Brooklyn's Progress
December 2007/January 2008

BY JILL D’AMICO

One of Brooklyn’s proudest manufacturing stories is one that has been unfolding for almost two decades.

TMI Food Group has been growing ever since brothers Terry and Joseph Tang set up shop making their own noodles in 1989 and delivering them to restaurants in Manhattan’s Chinatown. They expanded quickly to include light dim sum dishes for both consumer and food service.

In a sure sign of progress, that first small factory is a retail location, and the company has two manufacturing facilities in Brooklyn, both of which were recently awarded ISO 22000, which is a food safety standard that takes some companies years to acquire.

TMI’s newest factory serves as their headquarters. Located on a tucked-away corner of Bushwick Place in East Williamsburg, it is a gleaming, state-of-the-art testament to the Tang brothers’ commitment to producing an ever-expanding line of dim sum and noodles. Their products are now on shelves along the east cost, and some larger cities like Chicago and Houston.

It is also their making the most of Brooklyn as a place to do business – they have been members of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce since 2004.

“The Tang brothers always wanted to be involved with the community,” said Kevin Li, assistant marketing manager of TMI. “We joined the Chamber since we’re based in Brooklyn, and we knew the Chamber has a history of helping local businesses.”

It was the pending opening of the new 88,000-square-foot factory that prompted TMI to obtain the ISO 22000 certification earlier this year. The standards are developed by the International Standards Organization dealing with food safety, and it guarantees:

• The development, manufacturing and supply of products and services are efficient, safe and clean
• Trade between countries is fair
• Provides governments with a technical base for health, safety and environmental legislation, and conformity assessment
• The sharing of technological advances and good management practice
• The dissemination of innovation
• Safeguarding of the consumer, and users in general, of products and services
  

To wit, “Quality Control is paramount in TMI Food Group's operations and is maintained through quality control procedures including HACCP,” according to TMI’s Web site. “The process of securing our ISO 22000 certification will insure that the highest product quality and safety will be maintained at all of our manufacturing facilities.”

New Products
The new facility has the ability to produce 44,000 dumplings per hour – but they need something to fill them with! That’s why TMI’s Research and Development department is busy cooking up new flavors, tastes, and products for their customer’s discerning tastes.

While the most popular dumpling has been chicken teriyaki, Mr. Li said the R&D department does their best to expand customer’s taste buds and has recently come up with new ideas, like Cajun Etouffee Shrimp spring rolls.

“They are always coming up with different ideas,” he said. “They try to have a new product every year.”

This year brought the advent of Tang’s Natural, a new line of whole-wheat dumplings and egg rolls, all low-fat, low cholesterol, and made with all-natural fillings, like chicken from Bell & Evans.

TMI has also produced a line of Kosher dumplings, and proudly displayed them at this year’s Kosherfest, which took place last month.

Community Involvement
TMI is also a proud part of REAL BROOKLYN™, a targeted marketing initiative of the Chamber’s Brooklyn Goes Global (BGG) program, dedicated to celebrating and promoting Brooklyn-made products. BGG’s director, Steve Kaplansky, has worked with TMI since they joined the Chamber. 
 
“Steve has helped us a lot,” said Mr. Li. “He is always cross-promoting us any chance he gets.”

Mr. Li said his marketing team does about 10 food shows a year, which is an integral part of their marketing efforts – to get their product out in front of the buyers.

TMI also likes taking their product to the streets in the form of community events and parades. They make the official dumpling of the Brooklyn Cyclones, and their food can be purchased at Keyspan Park in Coney Island, or Shea Stadium in Queens. They also sponsor the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in Queens’ Flushing Meadows Corona Park every summer, where they hold a dumpling eating contest. If that’s not enough, TMI can also be found at Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations all over the city.

“We like to get out and go into the community,” said Mr. Li.

TMI’s products can be purchased throughout the city. For more information, go to http://www.twinmarquis.com/ or call 718-386-6868. For more information about Brooklyn Goes Global call Steve Kaplansky at 718-875-1000 ext. 104, or e-mail skaplansky@brooklynchamber.com. To learn more about the REAL BROOKLYN™ campaign, call Rosalie Rance at 718-875-1000 or e-mail rrance@brooklynchamber.com.